Sane, Simple, Sacred: Goodbye, Maeve Binchy

Goodbye, Maeve Binchy

I'm finishing our vacation on a sweet note. In less than 24 hours, I'd read A Week in Winter. I think I've read every book that Maeve Binchy has written with equal pleasure. She finished writing this one shortly before her death in July 2012 at the age of seventy-two.

Like the others, this one was full of characters so well described that I felt they were people I have known for some time. Maeve Binchy (whose name I have never figured out how to pronounce) writes clean, uncomplicated stories about ordinary people living out lives not so different from my own or those around me.

An Irish woman herself, she writes comfortably of small town Irish life while blending in folks from various walks of life from places like New York and London. Having read her other books, it is comforting to run into familiar characters now and then - yet in such a way that a person wouldn't have had to read the other books to enjoy the current one.

I'm sad to know she will longer be penning the kind of stories that make me smile (and shed a tear or two). For years I have waited a little impatiently between books for her next one to be published. Now my "waits" are over.

Goodbye, Maeve Binchy.

9 comments:

FlowerLady LorraineApril 27, 2013 at 3:35 PM
She is one of my favorite authors too. The library only has so many, and I really should make a list of the ones I've read.

Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady
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SandyApril 27, 2013 at 4:20 PM
I have never heard of her. What are her books about?
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elizabethApril 27, 2013 at 11:21 PM
My Mama loved her books! I've read a few and really liked them too, so now I must go to the library and try some more!
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Jacquelyn StagerApril 28, 2013 at 9:26 AM
I enjoy her books as well. So far my favorite is Scarlet Feather. Did you find any difference in her writing of her earlier books and her later ones? Her name is probably pronounced "MAVE" but I tend to say "Mau-vay". I have no idea which is right! I too was sad to hear of her passing. Maybe we can enjoy lunch at Quentin's someday?
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AnonymousApril 28, 2013 at 5:11 PM
Her name is pronounced May-v and it's an ancient Irish name. In Irish, it's spelt 'Medb', and Queen Medb is a key figure in Irish mythology. Maeve Binchy is a huge best seller in many languages and her books are read all over the world...
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elaine @ peace for the journeyApril 29, 2013 at 10:50 AM
Must read this one! Thanks for the prompt.
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Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Goodbye, Maeve Binchy

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